Peaceful Devolution

It’s a view you rarely never see on this blog, but it’s a view held by myself and a serious portion of liberty activists in the Keene area. (Not to mention the overwhelming majority of Keene residents.) Lately it’s been the senseless pestering of city bureaucrats, the quixotic school outreach, and his involvement in the war on grandmas. Yes, he does other things which are more legitimate and professional, but, for as long as I’ve been in New Hampshire, it seems that Ian has always been vocally supporting activism that’s jarringly wrong-headed.

I joined this blog in 2010 in order to openly criticize certain activist tactics that struck me as counterproductive. At the time, I was worried that the suppression of criticism was creating an atmosphere of groupthink— a situation where the systematic lack of criticism leads groups to make wildly irrational decisions. Since then, I’ve changed some hearts and minds with regards to criticism, and caused people to look twice at things they’ve taken for granted. This has been very satisfying.

But, where it really matters, I have failed. I had assumed the groupthink emerged spontaneously from the interactions of many people. In reality, groupthink occurs because Ian Freeman consistently and deliberately marginalizes criticism and critics, and derails open discussions of the flaws of activist strategies.

It took this thread on the Shire Society forum to make me understand this. (I get a bit carried away in my first posts because I’m blinded by rage, but take a few days to calm down, and post more reasonably later.)

Since I’m not as irrational as Ian, I’m acknowledging this new information, and changing my own tactics accordingly. It’s pointless to try to debate with someone who doesn’t believe there should be debate or open discussion.

Short of coercion, the only realistic option available to those of us who would like to see activist tactics improve, rather than stagnate or regress, is to apply social pressure to make Ian stop. I am convinced that this is the only way things will change. It’s frustrating and absurd that it has come down to this, but Ian has blocked every other alternative.

As part of this effort, I will no longer be posting on Free Keene. More than anything else at this point, I suspect that my blogging only feeds Ian’s egomania. Like a Democrat on Fox news, I’m just here to support the pretense that Free Keene is fair and balanced.

I know some of my fellow bloggers agree with these concerns, and I encourage them to join me. Perhaps it’s time for a new group blog, one not stifled by Free Keene’s cult of personality. Alternately, I’m sure Free Manch would welcome new bloggers.

I subject that the old lady was "exempt" from the treatment she got. I say that not based on law or legitimacy, but on common sense, commnon decency, respect that is due to the elders (specially to one who is in the lowest of the lowest position in the state's food chain). Those issues cannot be "techinically" like when Ian calls her another beurocrat. Only empathy to others and a sense of decency can make someone understand that. This is what is lacking when militants grow so utterly self-righteous. If this sense of politeness and deference to others feelings is not encouraged, what you get in the end is MORE regulation of peoples lives. More abstrse amd confusing codes of conduct in the work place, MORE city ordinances restricting participation, MORE criminalized behavior. The case for the state exercisee restraint is bery reinforced when all
People exercise restraint-not only of violence per se, but of the breaches of elementary courtesy towards strangers. A sense of proportion is equally important. It is not a judge you were filming agaist her will, but a woman who raises a stop sign in order to protect kids safety, and who has no arresting powers.

That's my cat, and he is a very well loved and happy cat. You sound like Tim, so if you are, you should know that because you have met him. Everyone who meets my cat agrees he is one of the friendliest cats around. Do you think he would act this way if he was miserable? Say what you want about Ian, but I don’t see what my cat has to do with anything. You’re just being dumb.

Little david, "Annoymouse, I think your annoyingness is not just limited to mouses..
Y (sic) would u want to annoy a mouse anyway?"
He's the mouse that annoys FREAKEENERS. I think you're smoking too much of what you're selling, Mate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jVoroHx3IU
Here you go...
Ian has no power, just ignore the fact that he's structured this "community" around himself. He has administrative rights to the website, the "community center", and the radio show many of the cult members tune into. The only way to ostracize Ian is to do it to yourself, like I have.
As to Ian being a psychopath, I'd agree with that observation. He actively eggs people on to take risks for his profit and benefit. He uses his "media" to reward the attention whores who do his bidding.
Ian is an expert at manipulating things, just look at his cat. He's trained the thing to do 30 or so tricks, he's been using the same stick and carrot strategy on the ignorant movers that are always showing up, thanks to his fishing net, I mean, radio show.

nameless,
That wasn't a very nice thing to say about people with Asperger’s Syndrome. What did they ever do to you, to make you compare them to a Lying Hypocritical Douche like Ian. Ian is now driving away even the like-minded. Well played sir.....

There must be more to it, than seems to be.
This has been a problem for a long time. I have blogged and blogged
until my fingers hurt, but it never changes.
Same ole, same ole......
We will still be here, working for freedom and liberty, either in the system, or outside it...

Ian on Wed, 21st Mar 2012 6:54 pm
Dale, I think I totally understood your critique at the time, and I agreed with it. Sorry if you feel like you need to repeat yourself – as I told you at the time, I tend to add text to my videos to set the scene.
Regarding Derrick, I think he was just shooting some b-roll, but I can’t speak for him. I see nothing wrong with that.
__________________________________________________________
So, ..."just shooting some b-roll"...?....OH! I *SEE*!...B-ROLL!
Why didn't you say so before, Ian???...
So you & Kelly V. & FAGGOT DERRICK were "just shooting b-roll"!
WHO KNEW!?....If I knew you were just shooting b-roll, OK,
but you didn't say that.
You know, Ian, a whole lot of confusion & hurt feelings could have -
- COULD HAVE - been avoided, if you had just been honest from the
beginning, and told us you were just shooting some b-roll...
Maybe you should have told FAGGOT DERRICK that HE
was just shooting some b-roll, too...
Oh, that sounds so sexy when you write "b-roll"...

Dale, I think I totally understood your critique at the time, and I agreed with it. Sorry if you feel like you need to repeat yourself - as I told you at the time, I tend to add text to my videos to set the scene.
Regarding Derrick, I think he was just shooting some b-roll, but I can't speak for him. I see nothing wrong with that.

name quote "I think nothing you say won’t register because you a idiot ."
Um "nothing I say wont register" .....I think that is a double negative which means stuff i say WILL register.so THANKS .......you finally see the light ...
And I am happy to show you the correct English in that circumstance :-)

No you a idiot. <-----that will no doubt fly right over your dumbass head.
I haven't quite figured out if you are legitimately challenged in the brain department - if you are, versus just being the biggest moron on here, I apologize.
Now - it's your turn to write your usual 8 responses one right after another.

Yeah Dale....go grab a gravatar.....because there are just SO MANY comments that Ian might not read them all. i.e....."hey 'trolls without gravatars', I'm not hearing you la la la la la.
I remember early on people of 'freekeene' had all these happy homogenous little videos and podcasts, welcome wagons for people who moved, lots of support, people getting together to do their little liberty stuff and minding their own business - and now.....it has turned to "that house" on Leverett Street. Sign on the bottom line of the Shire Society, follow the rules, the rules the rules - or liberty sage Ian will ban you. No soup for you TROLL!
You have collectively ostracized yourselves to the point that some rogue attaboy comment from Henry K in Sweden equates "success". Your own brethren and colleague Dale - is being put up against the ropes by you with a completely loaded question and for what....?.....for simply bringing a balanced expression to the thread.
This, no doubt will not register at all though....because I don't have a gravatar.

thats why I think a sit down is better.... because stuff gets lost on the web.... or maybe a ...party line phone call... (not w me )... maybe Ian scepticos,,,, dale.........other people that are more important than me ..lol

"You don’t think it was a problem to record the crossing guard, but had very valid critique regarding video presentations."
No, I haven't quite said that either. I said without knowing WHY you were videoing her, it comes across like you're just needling her for a reaction. I said I lacked context which might have explained why it was a necessary thing to video her. The closest I got to an explanation was that she had been nasty to you in the past. With nothing but that, I'm still not convinced it was useful to videotape this woman.
I'd encourage you to read my posts on the first two pages of the infamous forum thread and actually pay attention to what I'm actually saying. I think I empathize with Skeptikos at feeling the frustration of repeating myself to clarify something that I actually explained pretty clearly the first time, yet it keeps getting simplified down into something that you have a canned response for.

"I’m sorry, it sounded like you were suggesting that I couldn’t take critique, which is total nonsense."
Really? *Total* nonsense, Ian? I think you're giving yourself quite a lot of (undo) credit there.
Which critiques have you actually taken under substantial consideration over the past few years?

Right, but that's what's got Will so upset, Dale. He doesn't like that I won't do activism his way and accuses me of not listening to him, simply because I disagree.
You don't think it was a problem to record the crossing guard, but had very valid critique regarding video presentations.
I'm sorry, it sounded like you were suggesting that I couldn't take critique, which is total nonsense.

"Dale, are you saying that some government workers are exempt from being recorded?" -Ian
Where is that coming from? Where did I say anything like that? It's as Julia said. You keep making it about what is allowed vs. not allowed or what is in compliance with the NAP vs. what is not. I've never, ever suggested anyone should be exempt from recording. I've even carefully disputed that suggestion very early on and it seemed to register at that time. I don't know why it's coming up yet again.
Just read what I said and quit changing it to an argument that you have a scripted response for.